It's Not a Competition
by SharpeBB
Summary: Tai feels like he's losing Sora to Matt, and he's quickly losing control of his emotions regarding his two best friends.


Finally got this story up. Took me so long to start writing it because I've had a lot going on. But I'm glad it came together quickly after I did!

Anyway, enjoy!

Oh and the annoying part... I don't own Digimon.

* * *

Tai stared at the teacher rambling on at the front of the room, trying desperately to take in the information he was being given. He knew paying attention was the smart idea. His final exam was only a few weeks away. But try as he might, Tai just couldn't get interested in the topic.

_Why the hell did I ever register to take American History?_ Tai thought ruefully.

It was a rhetorical question of course. Tai knew exactly why he had taken American History. He was going to be short a class and needed to fill the gap. So he picked this class for the same reason he always picked classes he knew he would find boring. Any extra time he could take to spend with her, he always jumped at it.

He looked across the room and sighed. Her orange hair reflected the sun coming through the window, and her maroon eyes sparkled as she withstood the feeling of boredom that had consumed Tai. To him, everything about Sora Takenouchi was perfect.

Tai knew it was a cliché. Falling in love with your best friend. He had tried his best to fight falling for her. But after months of fighting, he realised that he was trying to fight a battle that had been lost the moment he started trying to resist. He had always been in love with Sora, and he was just trying to deny it as soon as he realised it. So instead of fighting his feelings, he had decided to hide them, refusing to make a move on Sora. He didn't want to risk losing his best friend because he was just an idiotic high school boy who asked out a girl who didn't like him in return. He was going to wait until he knew the time was right to tell her how he felt. For over a year he had been at peace with the choice he had made. Even though he wasn't with Sora, he was still happy. But recently all of that had been changing.

"Oh Sora…" he mumbled quietly.

"Yes Tai? You know the answer?"

Tai jerked out of his reprieve, and saw the teacher staring at him, as well as the rest of the class.

"Uhh sorry sir, could you repeat the question?" Tai asked. He heard a distinctive giggle and quickly looked over to see Sora covering a smile with her hand. He felt a lurch in his stomach.

"Which president was assassinated by Charles Guiteau?" the teacher asked.

"Oh right… uh, Grover Cleveland? No! James Garfield!"

The room was silent as Tai looked around in fear. He assumed he had guessed horribly wrong and was about to be incessantly mocked.

"That, uh, that's actually correct Tai," the teacher told him, his voice filled with surprise, "Good on you for knowing that."

Tai gave a sheepish grin in response as he saw many of his classmates looked impressed with him. His eyes met Sora's and she gave him a quick wink before returning her attention to the teacher. Tai felt a warmth spread throughout his body and he settled in for the remainder of the class.

A short half hour later, the teacher finally dismissed the class. Tai gratefully stood up and grabbed his books, waiting for his friend to make her way over to him.

"I cannot believe you actually got that question right!" Sora exclaimed as she reached him. The two friends left the room heading towards their lockers while continuing the conversation.

"Maybe I'm just a genius and no one ever really knew it," Tai joked.

"Right," Sora rolled her eyes, "You're a genius. A genius for borrowing Matt's textbook from last term and using all the notes he had in the margins."

"How'd you know about that?" Tai asked in surprise as he opened his locker. Sora laughed as she dropped her books in on top of his and closed the door for him.

"Matt told me about it when he and I were hanging out the other night," she told him. They started walked to the cafeteria, Tai suddenly feeling uneasy.

"Right, the other night when you said you couldn't hang out with me after my soccer practise because you were hanging out with Matt after his band practise?" he asked.

"You make it sound as though I committed a terrible crime by wanting to listen to cool music rather than stay upwind of you to avoid the smell of sweat," Sora teased.

Tai just smiled in response, not trusting himself to say anything. This was exactly what had been affecting Tai's happiness at how he had been handling his feelings for Sora. The past few weeks, it seemed that she was spending most of her free time with Matt. They would get together after her tennis practises, something that only Tai had ever done before, they walked to school together most days, and they always seemed to be finding excuses to go have private conversations when they were with the others.

Tai knew that he wasn't the only one who had his suspicions. Joe, Izzy and Mimi had also noticed how their friends were acting differently. The four of them had all talked about what was happening, and while no one, except Tai, thought that there was anything romantic going on at the moment, everyone agreed it seemed to be heading in that direction.

_Well, maybe if I had the balls to ask her out a year ago, I wouldn't be in this position, _he thought in annoyance.

"Tai, what's wrong? You drifted off there," Sora asked.

Tai raised his eyes and looked at Sora. He noticed the genuine concern on her face and couldn't help but smile. Even though he was losing her to his friend, she still worried about Tai's wellbeing in every possible way.

"Nothing," he responded, "Just got lost in thought thinking about soccer."

"I should have known," Sora smirked, but Tai noticed the concern didn't quite leave her eyes.

They reached the cafeteria, and approached their friends. They waved to Davis, Ken and Yolei as they passed them on their way to their own table. They arrived and quickly saw that there was already food waiting for them.

"Boy I'm going to miss the days when you don't owe us lunch anymore Izzy," Tai joked as he sat down.

Izzy grunted in annoyance before responding, "I still think you guys rigged that game somehow. There's no way I should have lost it so easily!"

"You're just pissed because you were so sure you were going to win the bet that you'd win the first time you ever played," Matt laughed.

"It was a sure thing! I totally should have won!" Izzy retorted defiantly.

"Well the next time we play Monopoly, just remember to count your money properly," Mimi teased.

Everyone roared with laughter as Tai sat between Matt and Joe, while Sora took a seat next to Mimi, across from Matt. As he settled in, Tai leant into Matt's ear and whispered.

"Think we should ever tell him you and I were secretly stealing his money the whole game?"

"We will eventually," Matt said, "When he's on his deathbed."

The two boys snickered for a moment before starting to eat.

"What's with you guys now?" Joe asked.

"With those two, it could be anything," Sora laughed, "Remember the time they stole all the chalk from the school and replaced them all with blobs of toothpaste?"

"Ah, one of our finest moments," Matt sighed with nostalgia, "You know, I was thinking we should do something to top it soon."

"What, you don't think our last prank was good enough?" Tai asked as he nodded his head at another table. Everyone turned to see TK and Kari now sitting with Davis, Ken and Yolei. Kari's head was on TK's shoulder while he had his arm wrapped around her waist.

"No, convincing our siblings to confess their feelings for each other and secretly broadcasting it to the whole school so they couldn't back out of it was good. I mean, it's a relief that they're not dancing around it anymore," Matt said, "But we need something to really surprise and disrupt the school again."

"You're right," Tai agreed, "We'll have to plan something for the end of the year."

"You guys are the limit," Mimi sighed, "Do you really have to?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Joe reassured her, "as long as they don't make me fail any of my last high school exams, I say let 'em run wild."

"Maybe think about ALL our exams Joe," Izzy mumbled, his mouth full of hamburger, "You guys got any ideas."

"Not off the top of my head," Matt told him.

"Aww don't worry, you'll think of something awesome Matt," Sora winked.

Mimi, Izzy and Joe exchanged smirks while Tai felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. This was the worst part about everything that had been happening recently. One minute, he'd be joking around with Sora and Matt, and the next they'd be totally absorbed in one another. And it didn't help Tai that he couldn't even get mad at either of them, because they weren't doing anything wrong. He wasn't going to tell Sora that she shouldn't be dating guys, just because he secretly wanted to date her himself. And Matt, his partner in crime, had no idea about Tai's feelings for Sora. So of course he would start dating the most desirable in school. There was no reason not to.

"So is anyone coming to the last game of the season on Friday?" Tai asked, trying to distract himself.

"Oh absolutely!" Mimi said with excitement, "I mean, I know it's only a formality since you guys locked up first place three games ago, but I always love watching the games!"

"I'll be there," Joe added, "It's the last game I'll get to see before graduating! So you had better make it a win Tai!"

"I can go for a bit," Izzy said, "But I have work that night. And I think my manager wants me in at five instead of six. So I might have to leave early in order to get home and eat."

"Since when is food more important than your friends Izzy?" Tai joked, "Sora, Matt, you guys coming? I know you have tennis practise Sora, but you could come after."

"I dunno Tai," Sora told him, "Matt and I were going to hang out at my place after tennis practise."

"That doesn't mean you can't come to the game for a bit," Tai said in annoyance, "And Matt, you don't have anything on, you could be there the whole time!"

"Hey, I never said I wasn't going to go man!" Matt exclaimed apologetically, "If you want me there of course I'll go!"

"You'll just leave half-way through because Sora won't wanna come. And you sure as hell wouldn't want to disappoint her right?" Tai spat back.

"Tai that's not fair!" Mimi scolded.

"Tai, I'm really, REALLY, sorry I phrased it that way!" Sora apologised, her voice quivering, "You know I would love to go to your game! I'll be there I promise! Matt and I will both be there!"

Tai stared at Matt and Sora for a moment before he stood up and left. He marched purposefully out of the cafeteria, not even acknowledging anyone as he did, and went straight to the nearest bathroom.

He turned on a tap and splashed his face with water several times. After a minute of doing this, he turned the water off, grabbed some paper towel and patted his face dry. He crumpled it up, threw it in the garbage can, and turned to look at himself in the mirror.

Tai felt disgust at the face he was looking at. He lost control for no reason. He freaked out on his two best friends for no reason. When he was the one who had been making mistakes. He knew they'd forgive him. They always did. That's what made them the best people he knew.

"And that's why they're so damn perfect for each other," he gritted through his teeth.

With a sigh, he turned and left the bathroom.

* * *

Tai thundered down the pitch after the ball, as the game reached its final few minutes. He quickly caught up to it and dribbled forward for a few metres before stopping short suddenly. Another player slid hopelessly in front of Tai, his attempted tackle missing completely due to Tai's awareness and skills. Tai smirked and dribbled forward for a moment again before lobbing the ball into the centre of the opposing penalty area with his right foot. He saw his teammate leap in the air as he headed the ball towards the goal. Just as it was about to go in though, the goalkeeper made a spectacular one handed grab over his head, and threw the ball back into play.

Tai swore as he heard the crowd groan behind him. He started to run back down the field towards the play trying to figure out how much time was left. The game was tied at two goals each, Tai scoring both the goals for his team. One was a penalty kick him put right into the top corner and the other he had tapped in after receiving the ball from a free kick. Even though the game didn't matter, Tai still wanted to win. He knew that there were scouts in the crowd, checking out the graduating students. Tai wanted to make sure they had a reason to come back next year.

He watched the play back at his own net, not wanting to come too far back. He needed to make sure they still and an attacking option. Tai felt time slip away too quickly. If they couldn't clear the ball soon, then the referee would call the game before there was another chance. There was probably less than a minute left now. Just as Tai was about to lose his resistance and run back to assist his teammates, one of them got the ball free.

"TAI!" he shouted as he hoofed the ball downfield.

Tai ran a few metres back into his own half to collect the ball. As soon as it touched his feet, he began his attack. He quickly spun to his left, avoiding the defender he felt come up from behind him. He ran forward to the halfway line and saw another defending coming in to tackle him. Tai kicked the ball forward an extra couple feet and leapt in the air, easily avoiding the sliding tackle. He landed and instantly caught up to the ball. He had about ten metres of free space before the next defender was suddenly coming in to try and dispossess him. Instead of moving away from the player though, Tai kicked the ball towards him. Caught by surprise, the defender let the ball slip between his legs, as Tai danced around him and picked the ball up again.

There were still two defenders between him and the goal, not to mention the keeper himself. Tai was still over thirty metres out, and knew there was almost no hope of scoring from there, and likely not enough time to get around both the defenders. His only hope was to take his shot after passing the first one.

He ran forward glaring at his opponent. He could tell that the other boy thought he had Tai right where he wanted him. Tai smirked, knowing his plan would work almost too easily. He tapped the ball with his right foot, faking a move to the left. The defender lunged in that direction, ready to block Tai's path, but in the blink of an eye, Tai kicked the ball with his left foot sending it to his right, completely avoiding the other boy.

In the second that Tai chased after the ball, he knew what he had to do. The last defended was almost upon him. Tai reached the ball and without even trying to line up a shot he struck the ball with his foot, using the momentum of his whole body for strength. He almost stumbled to the ground but regained his composure just in time to watch the flight of the ball. It streaked through the air, easily passing the last defending. It slowly began to curl to the left. The goalkeeper leapt in the air his fingers grasping at the ball. It skimmed the bottom part of the crossbar and flew into the mesh of the opposite corner of the netting.

"YES!" Tai screamed in triumph, as the crowd erupted in cheers.

He ran back down the pitch, leaping into the arms of his teammates. The noise around him was so loud he never even heard the referee blow the whistle to end the game. All he could hear was the cheering of the home crowd and the praises from his teammates about the stunning goal.

"What a strike Kamiya!" Tai heard the voice of his coach, "A brilliant run, followed by an off balance shot from twenty-five yards out! And you make it look routine! I tell you boy there are going to be scouts at every single game you play next year!"

"Thank you sir!" Tai said, not quite sure where exactly his coach was at that moment.

It took Tai several minutes to disentangle himself from his teammates and make his way back to the benches. He shook hands with several of the opposing team players, who had finished the season in fourth place, and joked with a couple of the ones he knew. Finally, he reached his bag and took off his shoes and socks throwing them into the bag, his feet instantly feeling relief.

"Eww, who wants to see your feet?" A voice asked from behind.

Tai looked up to see himself surrounded by his friends, his sister smirking at him.

"Jeez you'd think living with me for fourteen years, you'd be used to the smell of my feet by now," Tai told her.

"Just because I'm used to it doesn't mean I like it," Kari replied.

Everyone laughed before Tai continued.

"Shut it sis. I'm just glad you all got to come out! And see that goal! MAN that was a good goal!"

"I dunno. I think I've seen better," Davis said, pretending to be unimpressed.

"Davis, stop being bitter just because your team got last place this year," TK told him.

"Hey! If Ken hadn't been injured with that broken leg all season, we totally would have won!" Davis shot back.

"Which just means you're no good at soccer, and Ken is," Kari smirked.

Everyone laughed again as Davis blushed. Tai took this moment to take off his jersey to change into his regular shirt. As he pulled the jersey off over his head, a whole chorus of cat calls and wolf whistles erupted due to his bare, toned torso becoming exposed. Tai chuckled and waved his hand in appreciation to his teammates, who he knew were responsible for most of them.

"Boy they do love having fun with me about that," Tai said as he pulled his shirt on.

"I dunno Tai," Joe winked, "There were a lot of girls in the crowd who looked quite impressed with what they saw."

"As they should be," Mimi laughed, "Right Sora. Sora?"

"Oh, uh right!" Sora agreed, blushing slightly, "Sorry I just got distracted for a second there. Just uh- Just looking to see where Matt had gone."

"Uh, I'm right here Sora," Matt said bemused, standing only a couple feet to her left.

"Right," Sora mumbled, her cheeks still a little pink.

Tai was glad that most of this conversation had been held while he was still getting his shirt on, so no one saw his smile fade. When he finally straightened out however, he was smiling once again. Trying to act like nothing was wrong.

"So Iz did have to leave early?" Tai asked.

"Yeah, he felt really bad," Mimi said, "But he did catch your first two goals."

"Oh man Sora, you should have seen them," Matt told the red head, "They were both awesome. I mean, nothing on the third goal but still, a quality hat-trick by Tai!"

"Thanks Matt," Tai laughed, "But hey, we could all go out for dinner, and I could give you a play-by-play Sora."

"Oh that's a great idea!" Kari exclaimed, "Plus, we never really got to celebrate you being named player of the season after last game!"

Everyone murmured there agreement, except Sora.

"Oh, sorry Tai. I really wish I could. But like I said the other day… I was going to hang out with Matt."

"Oh," Tai responded, the disappointment in his voice obvious.

"I don't want to spoil your moment, it's just, we did have plans already," Sora explained pleadingly.

"It's fine," Tai told her monotonously, "Go do what you gotta do. Makes no damn difference to me."

Tai turned bent down to finish packing up his bag. He could tell that everyone was giving each other looks of confusion and apprehension. No one really knew how to handle Tai when he got this emotional.

_No one except Sora. Who's abandoning me again, _Tai thought bitterly.

As he stood back up, Sora tried to resolve the situation.

"How about tomorrow you come over to my place," she suggested, "My mom's going to be out, so we can just have dinner or something."

"Sure. Just tell me when you're done hanging out with Matt and I'll stop by after that," Tai told her, a note of resentment in his voice.

Matt and Sora exchanged glances.

"Uhh, how did you know we were hanging out tomorrow?" Matt asked.

Tai let out a single bitter laugh, "Lucky guess."

He picked up his bag and turned and walked towards his car. Anyone looking at him never would have known that ten minutes previously, he was jumping for joy.

* * *

Tai was sprawled across his bed, not feeling the motivation to do anything. He was still sore from how Sora seemingly blew him off the previous day. And even though he had his phone nearby, he wasn't really expecting her to invite him over. Especially considering how poorly he had behaved.

This was the ultimate frustration for Tai. No matter what he did, no matter how he acted, he was going to continue to come off as the jerk. The bad friend. No one was doing anything wrong, but because he couldn't control himself, he was taking his anger out on the wrong people. He just had to get away from it all for a while. Maybe once the summer started he'd be able to shut himself away in order to avoid everyone.

"Well, still have a few weeks until then," Tai muttered to himself. He pulled himself up and slowly walked to the kitchen.

He reached the fridge and opened it. He searched around for a minute before grabbing an apple. He closed the door and leant against the counter starting to eat. Just as he finished his third bite, Kari entered the front hall in a very pretty, and obviously expensive, turquoise sequin dress.

"Where on earth did you get that? And where are you going with it?" Tai asked his sister, his eyebrows raised.

"TK gave it to me for my birthday last year," she replied, "We're going to dinner at _La Belle Ange._"

"French restaurants, beautiful dresses, how can he afford to spend all this money on you?"

"You'd be surprised by how much he gets from winning all the writing competitions he enters," Kari laughed, "Maybe you should try getting some extra cash in soccer tournaments."

"I'm doing fine thank you very much," Tai retorted, "Hey, you guys didn't start dating 'til AFTER your last birthday!"

"Yeah so what?"

"You're telling me that he bought you that dress and you weren't even together?"

"Uhh, yeah he did," Kari answered blushing.

Tai shook his head incredulously, "Wow, it's a damn good thing Matt and I got you guys together. Otherwise neither of you would have ever figured out you liked one another."

"Bite me," Kari said, sticking out her tongue, "When are you going over to Sora's?"

"Don't know if I am," Tai responded, trying not to sound bitter, "She hasn't gotten back to me yet."

"Really? I figured she had since I heard your phone chime like, four times a minute ago. I figured she really needed to reach you."

Tai bolted past his sister and ran to his room. He heard Kari laughing and tell him she was leaving but he didn't pay attention. He grabbed his phone and opened his messages. Sure enough he had four new messages from Sora.

_New Message 1 - Hey. Just got home. You can come over whenever._

_New Message 2 - I've got some cash to order a Pizza if you want, or I can just make something here._

_New Message 3 - Whoops, looks like Mom hasn't gone shopping. Pizza it is. Lol :P_

_New Message 4 - Just let me know when you're on your way._

Tai stared at the phone for a moment. Part of him knew that he should tell Sora he wasn't going to come over. If he wanted to get over her, he had to spend some time apart. But once again, his emotions took over, and ignoring logic, he typed his response.

_Leaving now. I'll be there in about 20._

He pressed 'send' and put his phone back in his pocket. He went to the washroom to wash up quickly, and looked in the mirror as he finished. Just before he left, he looked at the grinning fool in the mirror.

_Typical, _he thought to himself, _Even though it's hopeless, love still make people to crazy things._

* * *

Tai knocked on the door and waited impatiently for it to open. He had never been this anxious when visiting Sora before. He didn't like it. Every second he waited outside felt like an hour. Just as he was about to knock again, the door opened. Sora stood in the doorway, smiling at Tai. He felt his stomach lurch as he looked her over. She was barefoot, in jeans wearing a skin tight pink spaghetti top. In her hair was an orange and red hairclip that Tai recognised easily. It didn't help his nerves.

"I thought you had gotten rid of that thing ages ago," he said, pointing to the hairclip.

"Why the hell would I get rid of a present from my best friend?" Sora asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I dunno," Tai shrugged, "Cause it serves as a reminder of how dumb I am?"

"It serves as a reminder of how sweet you can be," Sora laughed, taking his hand and leading him inside. Tai felt a chill run down his spine at her touch.

They entered her living room and sat on the couch. Sora stretched her arms over her head and relaxed. Tai tried to get comfortable, but he felt incredibly awkward. He positioned himself in what he hoped was a natural pose and gave Sora a small smile. Even if his heart was aching, he could always muster a smile for her.

"So I know it's early," Sora began, seemingly oblivious to Tai's discomfort, "but do you wanna eat now? Or wait for a bit. Just chat for a while first."

"Whatever works for you," Tai replied, "I'm not too hungry so I can wait for a bit."

"Works for me. Besides Matt and I had a couple of big hamburgers for lunch. So I'm still kinda full."

She chuckled and Tai gave her a forced smile. He hoped he wouldn't have to hear her talk about how much she was enjoying spending time with Matt.

"He's on his way over to help his mom with something," Sora continued, "Apparently TK has plans tonight."

"Yeah, he's taking Kari out to that French restaurant near the mall."

"Oh really? Wow, what a classy place! Good job TK!"

"Yeah, really classy," Tai agreed, "You should have seen the dress Kari was wearing."

"Was it the turquoise sequin one?" Sora asked excitedly.

"Uh, yeah," Tai answered, "How did you know about it?"

"I actually caught TK buying it several months ago," Sora giggled, "I remember seeing him in the store, and I thought that was really weird. So I approached him at the counter. You should have seen how red he got. He was so embarrassed, he begged me not to tell anyone he was getting such an expensive dress for Kari."

"You didn't happen to see how much it cost did you?" Tai asked.

"Yeah I did. It was almost ¥75,000."

"HOLY SHIT!" Tai yelled. "He spent that much on my sister and they weren't even dating?! Jeez that kid is crazy."

Sora laughed at Tai's reaction, "And he'll probably be spending another ¥20,000 on dinner tonight."

"Goddamn," Tai muttered in disbelief, "I hope Kari realises how well she's getting treated."

"She knows Tai," Sora assured him, "There's a reason she went for TK and not an idiot like Davis. She loves him because she knows how much he cares for her."

"Are you saying Davis didn't care about her?" Tai asked sarcastically.

"Oh he did," Sora smiled, "He just cared more about what he could do to her, not for her."

"Wow, classy Sora. That's my sister remember."

"And now she has a loyal boyfriend to defend her. So she doesn't need her big brother doing it anymore."

The two friends laughed at this. Tai's overprotection of Kari had always been something that Sora poked fun at. Tai felt relieved that despite all that was going on, not everything was changing.

"Man if feels good to talk like this!" Sora said, "It feels like it's been ages since you and I have just hung out!"

Tai felt his face fall as Sora said this. He didn't want to approach the subject but now that she had, he felt obligated to say something.

"Yeah, well, that's because it has," he told her, "I'm surprised you even wanted to hangout tonight."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sora asked, looking hurt.

"What do you think it means?" Tai snapped, "For the past month or so, I've barely seen you. You're spending all your time with Matt!"

"What are you talking about Tai?"

"I'm talking about how it feels like I'm competing with him to spend time with my best friend!" He yelled his frustration completely taking over, "Every day it seems like you're watching his band play. Or he's picking you up from tennis practise. Every damn time we talk, you just talk about what you and Matt did the previous day or something!"

Tai stopped to take a breath before continuing.

"Look it's obviously fine if you and Matt are dating. You guys are great together and I'm just going to have to learn to live with it. But just don't make me compete with him to spend time with you!"

"Tai!" Sora cried out, "Matt and I aren't-"

"You're not dating? Come off it," Tai scoffed, "It's so obvious that's what's happening. You start spending time with him out of nowhere, you're always going off to have 'private conversations' just admit it! You guys are dating!"

"WE ARE NOT!" Sora screamed, "Damnit Tai I wouldn't lie to you about that! You should know me better than that! I could never lie to you about anything! You're my best friend!"

Tai stared at the red head in stunned silence for a moment. He couldn't remember the last time she yelled at him like that. He knew that she was being honest, because she always was. But there was still a part of him that didn't believe.

"I'm sorry if I don't find that easy to believe sorry," Tai mumbled, trying to sound apologetic, "I mean, you just started spending all your time with him for seemingly no reason."

"That's because he was getting depressed," Sora explained, "He had been secretly dating a girl and she broke up with him. He came to me for help."

Tai felt his stomach sink, "Oh. But, why didn't he tell anyone? Why didn't he tell me?"

"You know Matt," Sora said, "He never wants to be a burden. And he doesn't want to burden his friends, especially you. He knows you would drop everything to help him. He didn't want to affect your concentration with the soccer season coming to an end."

Tai smiled for a moment. This was why Matt was the ultimate symbol of friendship. He knew his friends so well that he would do whatever it took to make sure they were happy. Even if it meant he was sad.

"But why did he go to you?" Tai asked in a small voice.

"Because he's smart enough to know when he needs help. And he figured that I would be the best person to help him out with a problem concerning love."

Tai sighed in relief. The fact that his two best friends weren't dating made him want to jump for joy. But there was still something holding him back.

"It doesn't change that he's replacing me as your best friend though."

Sora smiled and slid next to Tai, there legs pressed against each other. She wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head on his shoulder.

"Tai, you really are an idiot sometimes. I love Matt, he's like a brother to me. But in terms of who my best friend is, it's not a competition. Not even close. You're always going to be my best friend. The person who I come to with every problem. The one guy I know will always be there for me. The most important person in my life."

She raised her head and looked into his eyes.

"And don't worry, you won't ever have to 'live with me dating someone else'."

"Uhh what?" Tai asked, blushing.

Sora's lips formed a small smile, her eyes sparkled, "When you were ranting about Matt and I being together. You said 'I'm just going to have to learn to live with it'."

Tai felt his heart race. He hadn't realised what he said. Hadn't realised that he had inadvertently told Sora how he really felt.

"It's okay Tai," She whispered, "I feel the same way. I always have. Every time I see you, I feel happy. Every hug you give me quickens my heart. Yesterday when you took your shirt off… I'm not going to lie I almost swooned. Just everything about you Tai… You're perfect to me."

Tai stared in amazement at what she was saying.

"Sora I- I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything Tai."

"Yes I do," he responded, "Because you deserve that. And not just because of how I've acted the past few days. But because you've been so important to me, that you deserve the truth. You deserve to know that you're the reason I get up in the morning. That you're the source of my strength. You deserve to know that I will always protect you, however I can. And when I can't, then I'll be there to care for you any time life gets difficult."

He raised a hand to her chin, stroking it lightly with his thumb.

"You deserve to know how much I adore you."

He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her softly. He felt her kiss him back lightly, but passionately. They stayed like that for several minutes, the concept of time lost on them. All they knew was the blissful sensation they felt.

Finally, they pulled apart and gazed at one another, blushing slightly.

"You're amazing," Tai told her.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"No one else could ever care about an idiotic friend like me the way you do. Just a few minutes ago I was yelling at you."

"Love is a powerful emotion," Sora said, "It makes everyone do crazy things. It can turn the most rational person into a blubbering idiot."

"Hey…"

"That's not what I meant," Sora giggled, "I just mean, love controls us in ways we can't comprehend. We do things we would never dream of doing in our most rational moments. So that's why every time you start to get jealous, or start behaving like a complete moron, it won't make me angry. It'll make me happy."

She leant in and kissed him again softly.

"Because it will prove just how much you love me."

Tai smiled and pulled Sora into his arms. He held her as tightly as he could, never wanting to let her go. He never thought it would be a good thing, Matt and Sora making him so paranoid. Just another reason that his best friends were so perfect, even unintentionally. Because without them, he never would be able to say the next words that came out of his mouth.

"I love you Sora."

"I love you too Tai."


End file.
